Houvet, French Gothic. Mounted Photographs.

Houvet, Etienne. French Gothic. Mounted Photographs. La Cathédrale De Chartres. Two folders containing a total of 34 Black and White Photographs / Photographic Reproductions, all mounted on thick card board. See images for clarification. Most of the images appear to be from Etienne Houvets ‘Monographie De La Cathédrale De Chartres’. Two volumes. No publishing information. ND [c. 1920-1930] Maps c. 40 x 34 cm / Boards c. 38 x 32 cm. 34 mounted architectural images. Two folders (see images). Folders worn. Boards and images in very good condition.

Étienne Houvet (1968-1949) was born on June 18, 1868 in the village of Cercottes, a few kilometers north of Orléans. In 1897, he arrived at Chartres Cathedral; initially a servant in the master’s office, in charge of crypt maintenance, he became sacristan of the upper church in 1906. From liturgy, he took an interest in the architecture of the building and became its janitor.
Without attending school, he studied art history and took up photography.
His interpretation of religious sculpture was facilitated by a religious feeling that had led him to consider monastic life a few years earlier. His master in photography was Canon Delaporte, who had been familiar with the discipline from an early age. Around 1910, Étienne Houvet began to take photographs without a camera, producing his first reproductions using slow-printing sensitive paper. He was particularly successful with an image of the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus, from the grisailles of the Saint-Piat chapel. This was the souvenir image he produced for his jubilee of service at the cathedral in 1947. Later, he used a friend’s camera. It wasn’t until 1914 that he acquired a 13 x 18 camera. Gradually, with the proceeds from the sale of his first works, he was able to add to his equipment, particularly an 18 x 24 camera, the format of the album plates, then a 24 x 30.
Shooting was done using rolling scaffolding and a double ladder to minimize distortion. An artist must also take into account the time of day, and observe the play of light and shadow that can give a certain relief or vigor of expression to a physiognomy. The photographer must aim for a faithful image of the work to be reproduced; opting for a personal interpretation may result in a distortion of the work, or even a betrayal.
After publishing a number of documents, Étienne Houvet decided to work methodically, resulting in a first album of 96 plates, devoted to the “Portail royal”. No publisher was willing to commit to this perilous operation. So he embarked on a real adventure himself. In 1919, he published on his own account. To pay the printer, Faucheux, in Chelles, he had to take out a loan, secured by his own house.
The success surpassed all expectations; the work, honoured with a preface by Émile Mâle, sold very well and allowed him to repay the loan of 7000 francs.
This made him bold. Despite suffering from pleurisy during the summer, he began work on two new albums devoted to the north portal, which were published in January 1920. They present the history of the world from its creation to the death of the Virgin Mary. It was this portal that our photographer was particularly fond of, for all its symbolism: the figuration of creation, the ascetic figure of John the Baptist inviting conversion, the realities of daily life in the work of the months.
In the same year, he published two other albums featuring the south portal, that of the New Covenant: Christ in the midst of his apostles, escorted by the martyrs on his right and the confessors on his left.